From 2006-2013, I worked at the Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York as Teen Programs Coordinator and Senior Museum Educator. This page highlights examples of summer camp lessons created by teens in the Museum Apprentice Program (MAP) at the Brookyn Museum.
"People in Fashion and Art" featured paintings by Kehinde Wiley and a sculpture by Nick Cave. The Gallery Teaching Booklet (GTB) cover above was designed by Museum Apprentices in 2011. The link below provides an example of the lesson's object information.
"Gods and Goddesses" is a favorite tour of Museum Apprentices and campers alike. The GTB cover above was designed by Museum Apprentices in 2012. Click on the link below to see images of Museum Apprentices in action as they taught in the galleries.
The "People in Art" tour (for campers ages 5-12) focused on three paintings from the American Identities Gallery at the Brooklyn Museum that include people. First, campers looked at the big picture. They observed and discussed paintings focusing on people and their environment. Then, campers compared and contrast the settings, moods, and people in each artwork. Campers also focused on the figures by examining gestures, poses, expressions, and clothing to discuss each person's background/characteristics and his/her role in the painting. Finally, campers connected art to everyday by discussing the objects/clothing/setting and relating these things to what they have already experienced in their everyday lives.
The artworks were:
1) Winter Scene in Brooklyn, Francis Guy, 1819-1820
2) The Pic-Nic, Thomas Cole, 1846
3) The Reprimand: Ah! You Naughty Fawn, You Have Been Eating the Flowers Again, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait, 1852. This caption was written by Museum Apprentices who also designed the GTB cover above. Their lesson plan can be viewed by clicking the link below.
Previously, this tour was entitled "Brooklyn and Beyond" but "Greetings from New York Past and Present" became its new title in 2010. The lesson featured artworks that highlighted the local community, such as Georgia O'Keefe's painting of the Brooklyn Bridge. The GTB cover above was designed by Museum Apprentices in 2010. Below is an example of a gallery worksheet campers completed during the tour.
Each summer, Museum Apprentices worked in teams of two to design and teach thematic tours in various galleries throughout the museum. Lessons were documented in Gallery Teaching Booklets (GTB) and included two lesson plans (one for campers ages 5-8 and another for campers 9-12), object information, teaching strategies, reflections, photographs, and lesson assessments. The GTB requirements can be viewed by clicking the link below. The above GTB cover for "On The Wild Side" tour was designed by Museum Apprentices in 2012.
This tour explores the theme "Gods and Goddesses" and strives to increase campers knowledge of world cultures. Campers looked at artworks depicting gods and goddesses in different cultures across the world and learned about their influence on the people around them.
Featured artworks included:
1) Cartonnage of Nespanetjerenpere
Medium: Linen or papyrus mixed with plaster, pigment, glass, lapis lazuli
Dates: 945-718 circa B.C.E.
2) Two-Sided Stele with Vishnu, circa, 7th century
Materials: Sandstone
Dates: ca. 945-718 B.C.E.
Dynasty: XXII Dynasty
3) Goddess Durga, 8th century
Medium: Sandstone
Dates: 8th century. This caption was written by Museum Apprentices in 2010, who also designed the GTB cover above. The link below is an example of what Apprentices gained from their summer teaching experiences.